Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines confirmed for 2015

The Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines, which
played to sellout crowds earlier this year, will return in
2015.

The NRL, Duco Events and Auckland Tourism Events and
Economic Development (ATEED) announced today that the Nines
will be held at Eden Park on 31 January and 1 February,
2015.

All 16 NRL teams will enter the tournament which
carries prize money of more than $AU2.4 million. And the
size of each squad has been increased from 16 to 18 –
enabling teams to rotate more players and provide them with
longer rest periods.

The teams, which have nine players,
are split into four groups and play nine minute
halves.

The top two teams from each group advance to the
knockout stage of the tournament with the two top teams
playing in the final.

The inaugural tournament this year,
won by the North Queensland Cowboys, was played in front of
a crowd of nearly 90,000 over the two days.

NRL Head of
Commercial, Paul Kind said the Nines is a fun and
spectacular way of playing rugby league.

“The
atmosphere this year was absolutely brilliant and saw
thousands of Australians travel to New Zealand for the
events first year.

“Not only does it produce great
football but it brings enormous economic benefits to New
Zealand.”

A post-event independent evaluation of the
2014 event, undertaken by Fresh Info Co, released in June
found that this year’s tournament expanded Auckland’s
GDP by $9.35 million, of which $3.24 million came into the
New Zealand economy from offshore.

It attracted 16,000 New
Zealanders from outside Auckland in addition to the 6,000
Australians who crossed the Tasman to watch the
Nines.

Auckland Mayor, Len Brown said the Nines provided
outstanding entertainment for league fans and superb
economic returns for Auckland in 2014.

“Event organisers
will once again transform Eden Park into a rugby league
playground, and the Nines is set to become a very special
event in Auckland’s major events landscape”, he
said.

The tournament was globally recognised at the
prestigious SportBusiness International Awards in London
last April.

“This year fans and families really embraced
this great Nine's concept and enjoyed the tournament,”
Abboud said.

“Seeing Eden Park filled for two days with
over 90,000 fans was just amazing, and Dick Smith are
delighted to be naming rights partner of the event again and
look forward to growing the concept in years to
come.”

Duco Events Director David Higgins urged fans to
put their names on the Ticketek waiting list to secure seats
to the 2015 tournament.

“We expect huge demand for next
year’s event and, by using the waiting list, fans can be
notified when different categories of tickets go on
sale.”

Event travel packages will go on-sale in
Australia from Monday September 8 through Sportsnet
Holidays.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public
from October 9.

Len Brown is confident the Nines will be a
real highlight of Auckland’s series of blockbuster events
next summer.

“Given the success of the 2014 event, we
expect to see visitors travel from Australia, one of our key
tourism markets to enjoy a long weekend in Auckland where
they can see for themselves that the show never stops in
Auckland,” said Len Brown.

Key
Facts:The Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines is a
live 31 game two-day Rugby League extravaganza

• 16 NRL
teams with 288 players competing• Star players are
contractually guaranteed• Squad size has increased
from 16 – 18 players per team to rotate more players and
provide longer rest periods• Teams will be made up of
nine players across four pools of four• AU$2.4 million
dollars in prize money• A crowd of more than 90,000
expected over two days

The tournament is thanks to a
partnership between the NRL and New Zealand’s Duco Events,
and sponsors ATEED and Dick Smith.

ATEED is the foundation
host city sponsor, on behalf of Auckland Council and will
invest $NZ 9 million over five years as part of Auckland’s
Major Events Strategy, while Dick Smith is also on board
through to
2018.

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